Veteran's Day

On my credenza in my office is a smooth, triangular rock that's about two inches across. I picked it up from the beach in 2004 when my family and I ventured to the beaches of Normandy. The 10 minute hike down the path from the upper promontory where the Germans had all of their guns and soldiers was well worth the trip. As I turned and looked up, I noticed we stood in a bowl surrounded on three sides by the hills of Northern France. The trees have grown up on the hillside, whereas in 1944 Rommel had burned all of the vegetation. I'm not military strategist, but it was obvious that our troops were sitting ducks. Down in a valley, surrounded on three sides, with all the wrath of the German military bearing down on them. The only way we were able to overcome was by sheer numbers. They couldn't kill our soldiers fast enough. Many of America's sons left their blood and their lives on that beach on June 6, 1944. Many never came home as attested by the cemetery at the top of the hill with all the crosses and stars of David standing at attention. Those brave men were not allowed to see their children, their wives, their families ever again in this life....and they did it so that I could live in a country where I can speak freely. Where I am not worried about stating my political views. Where I can preach every Sunday without the police storming our assembly and telling me to stop. I can go where I want. Do what I want to do. Say what I want to say.
Freedom. What a wonderful word. I enjoy freedom because there were men and women who sacrificed their lives on foreign soil so that I could be free. That is something to never forget. I think it's appropriate that Veteran's Day is in the same month we celebrate another American holiday, Thanksgiving. These two go hand in hand as we think back on the blessings of liberty and posterity. Thank you to our veterans and soldiers who have given us this precious gift of freedom. And thank you God, for giving us your Son so that we can enjoy Your gift of freedom.
This rock will sit on my desk today in plain sight reminding me of these wonderful people in our military. Thank you! JW

Two Questions

I was asked a question the other day that I've never been asked before. It was almost a rhetorical question; one that really has no answer. Let me explain. We decided to have a "Sack Sunday" at our congregation where everyone would fill up sacks of canned goods and we would take this food to the Open Door Mission, a shelter for the homeless. All of you preachers probably know this, but when you say "canned goods," everyone brings canned goods, and all other kinds of foodstuffs. Our church collected 1,133 pounds of food. This included 622 cans, 50 pounds of sugar, oil, boxes of oatmeal, cake mixes, and many other items. We filled up a pickup truck full of food.
When we arrived the chaplain came out and asked "the" question. Now, let's see how you would answer this. He asked, "Do you have any idea how much of a blessing this is?" That question has haunted me now for a week. No, I don't know. Because God can do such awesome things. In the grand scheme of things, that's really not that much food, but God can make something of it. What I thrill it was for me to be able to say, "Take this food with no strings attached. Give it away or use it to cook meals. Just use it to God's glory."
I've received several thank yous and even a thank you note for this. But think about this, we gave from our abundance. I doubt many, if any, missed any meals because they gave it to the mission. I don't think anyone will be short any money because they spent it on food to give. Now, here's another question. If God can take and bless others when we give out of our abundance, what could He do if we gave sacrificially, truly sacrificially? Wow! Hard to imagine. Have a great day. JW

The Pleasant Surprise

I'm not a big fan of weddings. Don't get me wrong, I believe in them, they are beautiful occasions. But if people put as much money into their marriages as they did their weddings, we'd be much better off. But, I digress.
Recently, I was at a wedding rehearsal and the usual controlled chaos was going on. Where do people stand? When do you bring in the parents? How many grandparents will be here? What order are we walking in? What time are pictures tomorrow? When is the most important part? The rehearsal dinnner? You get the picture.
We were rehearsing the processional and this precious, 5-year old, blue-eyed, blond headed flower girl came down the aisle. She'll be a killer bride herself one day. What caught my heart was what she was doing. She was giggling and smiling from ear to ear....all the way down the aisle. She was relishing the moment, so much so that I told her I wanted her to do that tomorrow as she came down the aisle in the real wedding. I've left out one important detail. This beautiful, precious little girl had to walk down the aisle with a walker. Her legs were bent, she couldn't walk really straight, but that smile, that giggle. "I've got a pretty dress," she giggled as I talked to her. "It's got flowers in it." She said nothing about her disability. She wasn't complaining about her condition. She laughed. How precious.
I thought of Paul and my favorite passage that I quote often in this blog. It's found in II Corinthians 4. "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen. For what is seen is temporary. What is unseen is eternal." Caitlyn chose to see the bright side of things. And Paul points us in the same direction. Not on the troubles. Not on the disabilities. But on the joys of the moment. Like Caitlyn, let's not stop smiling. Let's overlook our hurdles and look beyond to what is waiting. Have a great day! JW

And Be Thankful

Martha and I got quite a surprise. Franklin, our youth minister, asked us if he and his wife could take us to dinner. Why sure! I'm never one to turn things down like that. But then we started thinking. Why are they doing this? Is there something they want to tell us? Are they struggling with something? When we got to the restaurant, they teens were there with a welcome "Surprise!" It's Pastor Appreciation Month and they were thanking Martha and me for being at Southwest. We were truly blessed by their "thanksgiving." I am thankful for them and for their love.
Paul tells the church in Collosse to "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, cince as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." Those last three words ring in my ears all the time. "And be thankful." Thanksgiving is the gateway to praise. It is the gasoline on the fire of a good and faithful life. The good thing is, we may not all have the talents to preach a gospel sermon or to be a missionary to a foreign country or to lead a worship service, but we can all be thankful. And that I am. Thanks for remembering us! Have a great day! JW

The Sign is Wrong

The bank sign said it was 74 degrees this morning. Now to my friends below the Mason-Dixon line, that's great. Only problem is, it's 54 degrees. I noticed this sign the other day when the temperature was really starting to change. I believe one morning it said 78 when it was really 58. I hadn't gotten used to the cool mornings yet and I marvelled at how warm it really was....after all, the bank sign said 78. What really tipped me off on the bank sign was when it read 90 degrees the other day. Now I know what 90 degrees feels like. So I was on to that sign now.
You're probably thinking at this point, "What is Jim trying to get at? I mean, he's talking about a bank sign for crying out loud!" This same phenomenon happens in our churches. Someone starts saying something that is untrue, shady, or an opinion that one has that may or may not be accurate. And we just take it at face value. For instance. "The singing just wasn't really that good this morning, was it?" (The bank sign says 90) Or, "That preacher isn't really doing what he should be doing, is he?" (It's really 58 degrees, not 78 degrees) Or, one I read about recently, "Things just aren't going well at church, are they?" Pretty soon we start believing the lie. And the church falls apart. Satan is good at what he does.
Recently, I was talking to a young preacher and he was talking to a chaplain from a hospital. He mentioned he worked at a Church of Christ and the response was typical. "You're the guys that don't use any instruments." I told him he should have said, "Yeah, and you should come hear it. It's beautiful!" I believe this can work the other way. Let's take the positive tack on this and start talking about our churches in a positive light. Let's invite! Let's encourage! Let's say how good it is! I'm not saying we should close our eyes to any problems. But my experience is we have a whole lot more to be excited and blessed about than we do problems. Let's focus on the positive and not the negative and let's turn this thing around. Didn't Paul said, "Do everything without complaining."? Let's try it. Have a great day! JW

P.S. And come visit us this Sunday! Great things are happening!

Satan's been after me lately. I don't know why. Perhaps he's sensed a weakness, a "more opportune time." But as I get older, the question keeps coming back to me, "What have I done of any importance?" "What have I accomplished that will last?" When I see that, I wonder if I've had an impact at all. Now, this is not the place where you say, "Oh, Jim, don't think like that. I love you and you've meant so much to me. etc., etc. etc. That's not the purpose of this blog. I'm just telling you some heart feelings.
Then I realize, I've asked the wrong questions. It's not, "What have you done?" It's, "How have I let Jesus rule in my life?" Then my life takes on a whole 'nother meaning. It's leaves the "it's all about me.." to "it's all about Him.." He can handle it. He can take care of it. And He can accomplish things that I wiil never see. Perhaps a kind word here that meant little to me may turn up years later as encouragement to someone who remembers that moment and praises God. Or perhaps it will show up in my children. Perhaps they will touch lives, some of whom haven't even been born yet. But it doesn't matter. This isn't about what I want to accomplish. It's about how He will use me. So I'll have to remember that I'm God's poem, just waiting to be read. God's creation. God's man. And I pray that He will be glorified in my life.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

Have a great day. JW

Family Reunion

My wife and I just returned from a family reunion in Ohio. My first (he doesn't want me to say oldest) brother and his wife were also there so we made the visit to old churches, old homes, three cemeteries, and the like. We laughed and laughed with cousins and other relatives. We ate together at the Olde Dutch Restaurant in Logan, OH. It may not have quite been like the family reunions of old, but it was fun. We reminisced, looked at old pictures, met new members of the family, marvelled at how old some looked, and how young others looked.
As I pondered, I thought how this weekend was representative of my entire life. We visited the old Bearwallow Church of Christ on Bearwallow Ridge. We found the Lancaster Street Church of Christ that my dad helped to literally build...I mean bricks and mortar and everything. We saw where they used to meet there in Athens, just a little square brick house. And we attended church on Sunday at the Blackburn Road Church of Christ there in Athens. I took my brother to the Old Bedford church; at least to where it used to stand. A split from the old Bedford Chruch formed the Bearwallow Church. How appropriate that our entire lives were built around church. With my dad being a preacher and then later a college professor, we spent our time at church, always. If there was a meeting somewhere, we were there. Many times, it was dad preaching the meetings. When the doors opened, we were there. Our lives then and now center around church.
We visited with aunts and uncles, cousins and other in-laws. We laughed and laughed. I'm not talking just a chuckle. I'm talking about the kind of laughter that always occurred at family reunions. Gentle ribbing, old stories, pranks played, and sometimes we just laughed because we were together. My aunt left the room and she claimed it got quiet. She claimed that when I walked back in the room it got loud again. Once again, that has been my life. Utter joy around family. Even when the times weren't so good, we could still find a reason for some laughter. A good joke or just the sheer fun of being together made our time so precious.
And three cemeteries. Burlingham where my great-great grandfather and his wife are buried. He's the one who started it all there in Ohio. He left Virginia after the Civil War to begin a new life. He was long gone before I came along, but his influence continues on to this day. Cherry Ridge where many more relatives are buried including my great grandfather and family, my grandfather and his family. Hallowed ground. As the gentle breeze blew across the field I could see our family gather in difficult times weeping and mourning the loss of another family member who had gone on to their reward. Yet, there was always hope. Hope that we would all, I mean all, would see each other again. That's what we were taught, that's what we believe. The Old Bedford cemetery didn't have any relatives that I know of. But the church that stood there was the place where my great-great grandfather worshiped God.
Church, Joy, Death. All vital parts of my life. Some may say that those three are a strange combination. I think they are what life is all about. We find God in our relationships with God's people. And God's people are our relatives if they are physically related to us or spiritually related. The joy we share is priceless. And when we die, we know that it's just the beginning. I forget who said this, but I remember someone describing death as putting out the candle because the sun was coming up. What a great description.
What a great trip we had. It was a reminder to let me know just how fortunate I am to have the loving family that I have. Have a great day. JW